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Troll 2, The PCC and Me!

A darkened cinema for a sold out performance, the high anticipation of what is about to befall our senses and a very shady looking Nilbog milk. It could only mean one thing….A Troll 2 screening was about to take place within Leicester Square. It will also transpire that few Saturday nights have been much better then what I was about to experience.

If any of you have read one of my older blog posts you will notice that I have a secret love for Claudio Fragasso’s absolutely diabolical ‘Troll 2’. The film which was first shown to me during my early university days (by a close friend), and was by far the funniest but most god-awful representation of a fantasy film, I had ever witnessed.

I instantly fell in love with it as it was filled to the brim with quotable zingers, bad acting and gloriously gooey effects. This felt like a dirty little secret between the two of us, but rather quickly I found out that this film was loved worldwide, for its absolute awfulness.

So when we found out a special screening was taking place in London, I leaped onto my laptop and with lightening fast reflexes, ordered my ticket to golden film heaven. The very idea of being able to watch this in the cinema truly blew my mind, what kind of experience would it be? Would many people turn up? And why did I have to wait 3 weeks until these questions where finally answered.

As the anticipation mounted we were fit to burst, like some kind of bad movie eruption. And then last night the moment finally came, as we hit Leicester Square and turned the corner, we witnessed this utterly beautiful vision.

What a great double-bill

Our eyes lit up, we were finally going to be able to see Troll 2 on the big screen, but all of this didn’t prepare me for what was about to take place. The atmosphere was utterly unbelievable, I had never, ever, experienced anything quite like it. People wooped and cheered, they cried with laughter, shouted the lines out before they were even uttered. It was like watching a film with all of your friends (beer in hand to add to the experience) realising that you are all unified and joined together in a church of film.

I still can not get over it now, the buzz and energy was what I have been waiting to experience within a film screening for so long. Finally it had happened, the audience reacting as one whole, viewing body.

After the screening the packed out theatre was given a special treat, in the (disembodied) voice of actor / dentist George Hardy. Yes the very same ‘Dad’ from Troll 2 made a special phone call, providing anecdotes about the making of the film and aired a quick (but informative) Q&A for the audience. It was the perfect cherry on top of the cinematic cake. Both funny and informative, Hardy came off as a genuinely nice guy who has found a sudden cult following, worldwide.

My 'Troll 2' mentor

Even after all of these special filmic treats there was still one thing to come, the critically acclaimed documentary ‘Best Worst Movie’ (a film which charts the fall and subsequent rise of this cult classic). This was a fantastic documentary filled with moments of laugh out loud hilarity and moments of genuine sadness. Who would have thought a film such as Troll 2, could invoke such things. It is certainly a documentary which needs to be watched almost as much as the actual film, and I urge all film fans to watch it.

When this immense evening came to a close I was left with so many emotions flooding through my very being. I came to the realisation that this is how all film screenings should be. And if it has taught me one thing, it is to encourage more people to watch Troll 2, as it was passed to me I shall pass it unto others. With great joy I see how popular cult film screenings are and realise (even more so then I did previously) there will always be life in the films that are quickly dismissed. The films which the average multiplex-Joe would discard at the mere sight of a poster, but for a select few (myself included) we realise these are the films made for sharing.